The August 11, 2026, Law on Telemarketing: What’s Changing for Your Business (and What’s Still Allowed)

Updated on September 3, 2026. Sources: Légifrance, DGCCRF, CNIL.

Since August 11, 2026, the rules governing telemarketing in France have changed: the system has shifted from an “opt-out” approach (Bloctel) to a “prior consent” approach. This page is intended for the company making the calls—SME owners, sales directors, or call center managers—rather than for individuals seeking to receive fewer calls. The question remains: what is still permitted today, under what conditions, and what evidence must be provided in the event of an inspection?

The essentials in 30 seconds

• As of August 11, 2026, it is prohibited to call a consumer for the purpose of commercial solicitation without their prior consent (Law No. 2025-594 of June 30, 2025, Article L223-1 of the Consumer Code).
• Bloctel was discontinued on August 11, 2026: the do-not-call list is no longer necessary, since the absence of consent is considered a refusal.
• B2B telemarketing remains permitted, subject to certain conditions: legitimate interest, a solicitation related to the profession of the person being called, disclosure of information at the time of collection, and a simple, free right to opt out (CNIL, page updated on June 10, 2026).
• Decree No. 2026-662 of July 23, 2026, establishes the rules governing consent: validityfor a maximum of one year without tacit renewal; proof must be retained for three years and made available to the consumer upon request (Articles R223-1 through R223-3).
• The frequency and hours are governed byArticle D223-9 of the Consumer Code: a maximum of 4 calls per consumer over a 30-day period, Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Penalties take the form of an administrative fine capped, per violation, at €75,000 for an individual and €375,000 for a legal entity (Article L242-16), with the decision published at the expense of the person subject to the penalty.

What Exactly Does the Law of August 11, 2026 Change?

Article 13 of Law No. 2025-594 of June 30, 2025, amendsArticle L223-1 of the Consumer Code. There are three key changes, and they do not all carry the same operational weight.

1. The “opt-in” replaces the “opt-out”

Until now, a consumer who did not want to receive calls had to register somewhere. Now, the opposite is true: without prior consent, telemarketing calls are prohibited. This consent must be freely given, specific, informed, unambiguous, and revocable, and expressed through a clear, affirmative act. A pre-checked box, consent buried in the terms and conditions, or an agreement to “receive information” in general do not meet these criteria.

2. Bloctel is no longer in business

The do-not-call list was discontinued on August 11, 2026. For a company making calls, this changes two things. First, the routine of checking files against Bloctel is no longer necessary. Second—and this is something many people overlook—Bloctel filtering served as a demonstration of good faith, but it never constituted authorization to call. That crutch is gone, and nothing has replaced it—except your own proof of consent.

3. The burden of proof lies with the professional

This is the real shift in the law. It is not up to the consumer to prove that he or she never consented; it is up to the company making the call to prove that the consumer did consent. A list purchased without traceability of its source is therefore unusable for calling an individual, even if the seller claims otherwise. Compliance then depends less on the call script than on what your system is capable of retrieving, line by line, six months later.

Allowed or prohibited after August 11: the chart

Status	After August 11, 2026	What this means
Cold calling a consumer (individual)	Prohibited without prior consent	Lists of individual prospects who have not given consent are excluded from the list of eligible contacts. You must switch to leads who have explicitly requested to be contacted.
Business-to-Business (B2B) Prospecting	Still permitted, under certain conditions	Article L223-1 applies only to consumers. The applicable framework is that of the GDPR: legitimate interest, the purpose of the solicitation must be related to the profession of the person being contacted, information provided at the time of data collection, and the right to object, which is simple and free of charge.
Client with an active contract	Permitted if the solicitation is related to the subject matter of the contract	The fourth paragraph of Article L223-1 covers products and services that are related to or complementary to the purpose of the contract, as well as those that improve its performance or quality. Call hours and limits remain in effect.
Incoming call, customer service, live callback request	Not applicable	This isn’t cold calling: the consumer initiates the contact. The inbound channel automatically becomes more strategic.
Callback for a lead who requested a callback	Permitted, within the limits of the consent obtained	The form must include a record of the following: date, exact content of the request, scope of the goods or services in question, and duration. Consent expires after one year.
Press: newspapers, periodicals, magazines	Exemption (Article L223-5)	The sector is exempt from the consent requirement, but remains subject to other regulations: scheduling rules, the limit of four calls over a 30-day period, and data protection rules continue to apply.
Energy efficiency and renewable energy, home modifications for the elderly or people with disabilities, CPF	Completely prohibited	Sector-specific prohibitions that cannot be waived by consent (Article L223-1 for the first two, Article L6323-8-1 of the Labor Code for the CPF). Two exceptions remain: the fulfillment of an ongoing contract, and a callback to a consumer who has personally requested information, within five business days and limited solely to the requested subject matter (Article R223-4).

In borderline cases (hybrid status, expired contract, professional contacted on their personal line), the analysis depends on the actual situation and the applicable laws. This page describes the general framework; it does not constitute legal advice: please refer to the DGCCRF’s practical guide and, if necessary, have the case reviewed by a legal professional.

The operational rules that almost no one has internalized

Most publications on this topic date from the spring of 2026 and focus solely on the opt-in principle. However, Decree No. 2026-662 of July 23, 2026, sets forth the requirements that determine whether your set is compliant or not.

• A maximum of one year. Consent is valid for one year from the date it is obtained, with no option for tacit renewal. After this period, consent must be obtained again. A database of consenting leads is therefore not a permanent asset: it expires in cohorts.
• Evidence must be retained for at least three years. And it must be made available to the consumer upon request. This is not passive archiving: it must be possible to retrieve and provide proof of individual consent.
• What the consent request must include. Article R223-1 requires five clear and understandable statements: the identity of the business and, if applicable, of the third party who will call on its behalf, along with the nature of the goods or services involved; the option to consent or decline; the consent period, which may not exceed one year; the right to withdraw consent and the procedures for doing so; and the consumer’s access to proof of their consent. If even one of these elements is missing, the person is not considered to have given consent.
• It is not permitted to call to obtain consent. The DGCCRF reiterated this on August 5, 2026: a business may not call a consumer for the purpose of obtaining consent to receive unsolicited sales calls. Consent must be obtained in advance, through another channel.
• Withdrawal at any time, including verbally. If the consumer withdraws consent during the call, the person on the phone must be able to track it immediately, without going through a back-office.
• A maximum of four calls over a rolling 30-day period per consumer and per business (Article D223-9), and attempts count—even if no message is left or the call is not answered. This limit also applies to calls to individuals who have given their consent. This is the most dangerous rule for high-volume call centers, because an automatic dialer can exceed it without anyone noticing.
• Hours. Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., in the consumer’s time zone. Not permitted on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays. The only exception: the customer has agreed to be called at a specific date and time, and you can verify this.

These last two rules are configuration constraints, not guidelines to post on the wall. A predictive dialer that does not cap the number of attempts per contact within a rolling 30-day window—and that does not block prohibited time slots—automatically results in violations.

Penalties

Failure to comply with the rules may result in an administrative fine of up to €75,000 for an individual and €375,000 for a legal entity (Article L242-16 of the Consumer Code). This maximum amount applies per violation, and penalties imposed for concurrent violations are cumulative (Article L522-7). This is why the DGCCRF presents these amounts as applicable per campaign: over the course of a campaign, the total can quickly add up.

The decision imposing a sanction is generally published at the expense of the person subject to the sanction; however, the authority may defer, anonymize, or withhold such publication if it would cause serious and disproportionate harm or interfere with an ongoing investigation. For a company whose business relies on outbound calls, the reputational cost often outweighs the fine.

There are two additional civil consequences, which are rarely mentioned. A contract entered into as a result of an unlawful telemarketing call is void, and the business that profited from the calls is presumed liable for the breach, even if it outsourced the campaign to a service provider (Article L223-1).

What to Do Depending on Your Business

You sell to businesses

Your business continues as usual, but you are not operating with complete freedom. You must document the legal basis of legitimate interest, verify that what you are selling is relevant to the profession of the people you call, provide information at the time of data collection, and handle objections smoothly. The details of these obligations and the pitfalls of classification are covered in our guide to B2B telemarketing following the 2026 law.

You were making cold calls to individuals

This model is coming to an end. The solution lies in generating leads who have given their consent and following up with them promptly, while maintaining a verifiable record of their consent. We explain the process in detail in our article on smart calling and following up with leads who have given their consent.

You have a portfolio of active clients

The “active contract” exception is your main source of opportunities, provided you don’t overinterpret it: the solicitation must remain relevant to the purpose of the contract. The line between legitimate outreach and disguised prospecting is explained in our analysis on contacting customers with active contracts after August 11, 2026.

You’re already receiving incoming calls

Every unanswered incoming call becomes a lost sale that no outgoing call can make up for. Call routing, call overflow, and automatic callback for missed calls: see our report on incoming calls as a sales channel in 2026.

You must provide proof of your consent

This is the task that must be addressed before anything else, and it is more technical than legal: where is the evidence stored, what does it contain, who can retrieve it, and how long does it take? A CRM system integrated with the phone system allows you to link the consent record to the specific call record rather than to a standalone export. Our checklist for proof of consent outlines, point by point, what you need to be able to produce.

Frequently asked questions

When will telemarketing stop?

Telemarketing calls to consumers without prior consent have been prohibited since August 11, 2026. It has not been completely eliminated: it is now subject to prior consent, and remains permitted in cases provided for by law (existing contracts, the press) as well as between businesses.

What is the new law against telemarketing?

This refers to Law No. 2025-594 of June 30, 2025, Article 13 of which amends Article L223-1 of the Consumer Code, supplemented by Decree No. 2026-662 of July 23, 2026, which sets forth the procedures for obtaining, retaining, and withdrawing consent. The number of calls and permitted calling hours are governed by Article D223-9 of the Consumer Code.

Does this apply to B2B telemarketing?

Article L223-1 applies only to consumers. Marketing between businesses remains possible, subject to certain conditions: it must be based on a legitimate interest, the purpose of the solicitation must be related to the profession of the person being contacted, and the obligations regarding information at the time of data collection, as well as the right to object easily and free of charge, apply (CNIL).

Is Bloctel going to disappear?

Yes, it’s already been done: the Bloctel service was discontinued on August 11, 2026. The do-not-call list has been replaced by a prior consent system. There is no longer a database to check before calling; instead, consent must be obtained and verified.

Which sectors are completely off-limits for cold calling?

There are three areas where cold calling is prohibited, and consent cannot change this in any way: work aimed at energy savings or the production of renewable energy;home modifications to accommodate aging or disability (Article L223-1); and the personal training account (Article L6323-8-1 of the Labor Code). However, calls made in connection with an existing contract and follow-up calls to a consumer who has requested information—made within five business days and limited solely to the subject of their request—are permitted.

What are the penalties for noncompliance?

An administrative fine of up to €75,000 for an individual and €375,000 for a legal entity (Article L242-16), along with the publication of the decision at the expense of the party subject to the penalty.

Adapting Your Telephony System to the New Framework

Kavkom is a 100% cloud-based business phone solution: Limits on the number of attempts per contact, restricted calling hours, call tracking, and CRM integration can all be configured from the same interface—with no additional cost per feature, no long-term commitment, and prorated billing.

To see how to set up your outbound campaigns within this new framework, request a demo.